The relationship between Moral Distress, Compassions Fatigue and Work-family conflict in nurse: The Role of Self-Differentiation as a Mediator

Background and Aim: Many nurses are involved in work-family conflict due to the nature of the nursing profession and overwork; investigating the factors related to work-family conflict can help reduce or control this conflict. Compassion fatigue and moral distress are some of the factors that may affect the work-family conflict of nurses. The purpose of this study was to determine the mediatory role of self-differentiation in relation between compassion fatigue, moral distress and work-family conflict among nurses of Kerman City. Materials and Method: This is a descriptive study which uses structural equation modeling. The statistical population of this study includes all married nurses of 8 public hospitals in Kerman City. A total of 159 nurses were selected via available sampling method. Data gathered using compassion fatigue questionnaire, the moral distress questionnaire, the work-family conflict questionnaire and the self-differentiation inventory and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: The findings showed that compassion fatigue, moral distress and self-differentiation can significantly predict work-family conflict in nurses (p <0.05). Self-differentiation is not only directly related to work-family conflict, but can also indirectly affect work-family conflict by reducing moral distress and compassion fatigue. Conclusion: Based on the findings, it can be concluded that teaching self-differentiation skills can probably help nurses to reduce the consequences of fatigue due to compassion and moral stress and thus reduce work-family conflict.